Systems exist for distributing content to users such as broadcast television, cable television and pay-per-view. In such systems, the content provider dictates when content is available and the user may view the content at the scheduled time. Devices such as video cassette recorders (VCRs) and digital video recorders (DVRs) (e.g., a TiVo system) allow users to time-shift content and view the content at a time different from the broadcast time. There is increasing desire by users for content on demand. In such systems, users can immediately obtain multimedia (e.g., motion pictures). Such systems must address features such as billing, security and quality.
Systems and techniques currently exist for delivering data files (e.g., software, audio, video) to devices from a single source. Limitations of this approach include excessive network bandwidth utilization and excessive resource utilization at the source due to large files being delivered. In addition, sending a large file from a single source may result in significant impacts from source failures, including requiring one hundred percent retransmission of data. These limitations associated with delivering data files to a device from a single source may result in delays in the delivery and ultimately, availability of the data package at the destination device.